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| Sunday, 5 December 2004 |
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More vocational training programs planned by Don Asoka Wijewardena Education is fundamental to the development of any nation as it supplies required trained manpower to run a country's professions, services and the economy. Sri Lanka has 18% of skilled labour and the government is planning to raise this percentage to 50%. The Ministry of Skills Development Vocational and Technical Education has already formulated plans to increase vocational training programmes in co-ordination with the private sector, said the Minister of Skills Development Vocational and Technical Education, Piyasena Gamage at the Graduation Ceremony of the City and Guilds held at the BMICH on Friday. Keith aker,Director of the City and Guilds for the South Asia region addressing the ceremony said that the City and Guilds had provided the foundations which underpinned modern system of vocational education and training by establishing occupational standards, preparing syllabuses in technical and vocational subjects, designing assessments to measure the ability of learners and developing effective systems for exam administration and quality. He pointed out that City and Guilds awards were being recognised competence to the jobs and designed to provide a combination of practical experience and theoretical knowledge internationally recognised by employers as evidence that the holder had the right skill to do that particular job. "City and Guild started with just 202 candidates; now we issue over a million certificates every year to candidates in nearly 100 countries," he added. Baker said that the Institute was proud to be associated with Sri Lankan organisations to best serve individual learners and local employer requirements and added that this would result in an expansion of business, improvement of employment opportunities and overall would assist the economy of Sri Lanka to develop. Minister of Skills Development Vocational and Technical Education Piyasena Gamage said that vocational training for Sri Lankans had become a basic requirement in the country today where there had been a severe shortage of skilled manpower to fill vacancies both in the public and the private sector. He said that Sri Lanka had been branded as a cheapest labour exporting country due to lack of skill development courses and added that City and Guilds had commenced esourceful vocational training courses in Sri Lanka for the benefit of our youth. Minister Gamage also said that he was grateful to the City and Guilds for taking the initiative to introduce a number of training programmes such as Electrical and Electronics engineering, telecommunication engineering, motor mechanical engineering, construction engineering and mechanical engineering for Sri Lankan youth who would be able to accept the challenges of the world. City and Guilds Country Manager Mufthy Hashim said that although around 2 million Sri Lankans were employed around the world about 1 million workers were housemaids due to lack of vocational training. He said that this was a first graduation ceremony held in Sri Lanka since the establishing City and Guilds which was founded 126 years ago. Around 70 students completing relevant higher diplomas and diplomas in telecommunication and electronics engineering, electrical and electronics engineering, advanced diploma in telecommunication engineering were awarded diploma certificates by the Minister Piyasena Gamage. |
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